Men held hands, and two women stopped and stared. I thought about asking people if they knew me, but something yanked me toward the white marble and red brick courthouse. Like a soldier, I marched.
A tall lady in her thirties with short curly hair gawked before whispering to a smaller, younger blonde. Even when I'm human, my ears hear the lowest whisper, but not now. Their racing heartbeats were loud though.
Before I could ask, she gestured toward another room where someone was breathing fast. Police officers stayed at the edge of my vision as I entered. I approached the sheriff, an older man with a handlebar mustache, several faded bruises, and an arm and leg in a cast.
Like the taller lady, he held his gaze before mouthing "Wow."
Inside the jail cell, a short man flung himself at the bars, screaming my name so loudly it echoed through the building. His voice cracked with raw desperation, tears streaking down his face. He slammed his fists against the metal, then turned to the brick wall, punching until bits of mortar crumbled onto the floor.
He's strong like me.
Going there and bending the bars sounded like a good idea, but they were strong enough to keep him in. There was a reason for that.
"Let me out! Now."
The sheriff whispered so low, a human wouldn't hear. "You hear me?"
I nodded. With a slight mustache twitch, he tossed me the keys. From the twelve different choices, I picked the right one on the first try.
Metal crashed against brick as the little man threw himself into my arms, convulsing as he babbled my name. His tongue snaked into my mouth before peppering my face with kisses.
It felt right, but I should be careful doing things like this in public. The strange yet familiar man cried more before giving me one last kiss. As I stared, his expression turned serious.
With reluctance, I steadied him on his feet, knowing my next words would shatter him. "What's your name?"
He froze. "What?"
I brushed a hand through my shaggy hair, exposing the bullet scar above my ear. The confusion on his face deepened into something worse: dread.
He was smart and his hands went up to his face.
"I don't remember hardly anything, uh…"
"Mike," he said with a dry cough.
Like setting a broken leg in combat, it was best to do it quickly. "I don't knowyou. I'm so sorry." The sheriff had the feel of a good guy and Mike hadslid his tongue down my throat. I had to be around friends and lovers.
Mike's eyes reddened as he listened to my story on how I'd been a prisoner of war, then wandered America searching for someone I couldn't remember. Once done, I askedthequestion. "Can you all, uh, turn?"
"Into a wolf?" asked Mike.
The sheriff looked up as if expecting a tornado, but we were inside. "Yep."
Despite the situation, I smiled slightly. The commander had turned into a tiger, but I'd never found another like me. "Great, right?"
"No, it's not," said Mike.
'Because you don't remember me' was obvious but it was time for his story about a giant armored worm. I interrupted since worms didn't have scales, but snakes did. It seemed foolish when he mentioned how a little girl got taken.
I faced the sheriff. "And you all are justsittinghere?"
"Henry took out several shifters in town and those we sent after him. We sent more to scout, and he found over half. We keep sending men into the grinder, it'll turn into—"
My jaw tightened. "Another Vietnam?"
"Yeah, in fact. More men weren't the answer."
Bile rose in my throat. People who weren't there thought they knew how to win the war. They didn't have to sit in a dank, rainy jungle or watch friends slowly stabbed with sharpened bamboo. My fist clenched and an unexpected icy chill came over me.
